Bartender gets lottery ticket as a tip, and wins

A Missouri bartender has inadvertently walked away with the tip of a lifetime after being gifted a winning lottery ticket by one of her regular customers. Thirty-three-year-old Taylor Russey, an employee at Bleacher’s Bar in the city of O’Fallon, was able to claim a whopping $50,000 thanks to the gift. 

In an interview with The New York Post, Russey revealed that the ticket tipping habit has become something of a calling card for the bar-regular, who has asked to remain anonymous. As she explained: "He does this every now and then, and when he does, he still tips regularly. It's just something nice he does for us."

It was not until the next day that Russey realized that she had got more than she’d bargained for after the evening shift. As she returned to work, she attempted to scan her ticket at the bar’s built-in lottery terminal. Immediately, it was clear something strange was going on. As she put it:

"It told me I couldn’t cash it, that I had to claim the prize at a lottery office because I won $50,000. I kind of stood there for a second, looked at the cook and then looked at the ticket before I started laughing and then I started crying."

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In terms of what she might do with her unexpected windfall, Russey revealed that she plans on being relatively conservative. Aside from paying for some dental work, she has no plans for a blowout, especially after her jackpot took “kind of a big hit” after taxes.

She elaborated, explaining to The New York Post: "I’m not that kind of person. [...] This is not going to sustain me for the rest of my life. I still have to work."

In spite of her success, her colleagues have somehow managed to avoid feeling overly jealous. As she put it: "Honestly, I haven’t had anybody say anything negative to me at all. Everybody’s been supportive and congratulating me. It’s become a very public news story."

Whether that remains the case when she rocks up with a new set of gnashers remains to be seen.